Visitors
by ResurgereTento
Summary: Oneshot. When Sasuke finally returns, he returns to silence. Implied NaruSasu.


Another one-shot! I swear I'll get to the chaptered fics soon! shifty eyes

I started this off when I was in an utterly shit mood, but then didn't manage to get it finished until much later when I was feeling better. I think it shows. XD

* * *

_This is the place they pretend to forget._

_No one ever actually can, of course. Its ties to the villagers are far too many, while very nearly everyone visits the building once in a while. But outside of the bright white halls, everything is pretend – stories and legends and tales woven into heroic deaths or honourable retirements. Facts slip away like smoke through fingers, impossible to catch and blinding to the logical eye._

_This is the place where shinobi truly die._

_Men and women wander room to room, trailing fingers leaving invisible smears of blood on the walls in their wake. They jerk at small noises, hands twitching towards weapons no longer there and bodies twisting to positions long since unused. It's common, this illness, and not usually noticed until retirement – though the seed is planted early. It's hard to let go._

_This is a quiet sort of insanity._

_He is younger than most. He was even younger when he first arrived, and he isn't quite the same as the others. Most strikingly, his illness came with intent – is it better to watch someone be broken, or to break them yourself? He is silent, and he watches the seasons pass from the window._

_This is the place that lives in the past._

_- _

Sasuke didn't quite receive the welcome home he had expected.

Which was honestly rather strange, since he felt he had covered all bases – he had been expecting both enthusiasm (most likely in the form of bright and blond) and a kunai to the throat (most likely in the form of, well, a kunai to the throat).

-

_What he didn't expect was silence._

_- _

They had been waiting for him at the gate – things as they were, he was intelligent enough to correspond with the Hokage ahead of time – ANBU, no one he knew. No one said a word as they led him through the streets and Sasuke couldn't help but notice that even the civilians halted their whispered conversations as he passed. It was eerie, and uncomfortable to say the least. He strode forward, always proud, even now.

When they reached the Hokage's office he immediately recognised one of the masked guards – the porcelain beak hid the man's features, but the long black hair gave away his identity easily. Sasuke sought eye contact, expecting some form of a reaction from an old rival, but Neji did not make the slightest gesture of acknowledgement. With a slight frown, Sasuke passed him by. Perhaps, after all, it was too much to expect anything from the emotionless Hyuuga.

-

_Neji visits whenever he can, although missions keep him busy. Everyone knows he blames himself, at least in part. He was there, after all – he saw it happen, saw the shatter, but his comforts fell on deaf ears._

_He keeps trying, even still. He won't give up – that's his way of the ninja, now._

_- _

He found himself face-to-face with the Hokage, held fast in a staring contest over her desk. Her expression was tense, while a woman with short black hair hovered anxiously nearby.

No one spoke.

The black-haired woman dropped a cup of tea in her nervousness, the sound causing both Sasuke and the Hokage to blink.

The Hokage sighed, and opened her mouth.

Her voice – carefully emotionless, monotonous – washed over him, summing up his future in a few sentences. Surveillance, probation, boundaries…nothing particularly surprising. Almost nothing.

"You will have a constant escort, in the form of my student," she gestured towards the entrance. "I suggest you do not attempt to escape her."

Turning, Sasuke's gaze found that of Sakura, who stood just inside the door. She blinked slowly at him, eyes strangely miserable. He turned back to the Hokage.

Her eyes were cold. "I'll tell you now that I would have you executed for his sake, but for Naruto's sake I will refrain. You are dismissed."

Mulling over the odd comment, he met Sakura at the door. Her gaze slid past him.

"And just so we're clear?" Tsunade's voice came from behind. "I'm holding you entirely responsible."

'_For what?'_

_- _

_Tsunade visits late at night – or early in the morning, depending on your perspective. She comes while he's sleeping, necklace on the pillow, because she won't see his eyes. She sits and does paperwork beside his bed. Every now and again she discusses a problem with his unconscious form, mentally__ filling in the conversational gaps. It's training, she tells herself. It's training, because he will be Hokage one day._

_She knows this. She has faith, now._

_- _

Sasuke has been following Sakura for five minutes now, but still doesn't know where they are going. She was yet to say anything.

Surprisingly, he is first to break the silence – he always hated being left in the dark. "Why is it so quiet?"

Her footsteps faltered and she turned to him, considering, and then spoke for the first time. "We're missing something, I guess."

He carefully did not think about what he has missed, what he is missing even now. He raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

She sighed. "You'll see, soon enough." She turned away and picked up the pace.

-

_Sakura visits nearly every day. She volunteers there now, dividing her time between missions, the hospital, and _there. _Most of the time, she takes the morning shift, arriving with the sun. She talks to him as if everything is as it was, a façade of normalcy – but it is difficult. She smiles, and chats, and ruffles his hair, and then returns home and cries into Lee's shoulder._

_But he is there for her, always. She is endlessly cared for, now._

_- _

She glanced back towards him. "Ah…Tsunade-sama didn't mention it, so I should warn you – the Kazekage is in town."

"Gaara? Why would he require a warning?"

She bit her lip. "He reminded us, a short while ago, that he is bound by the laws of Suna, not Konoha. We can't control him."

"Hn." Sasuke still didn't quite understand, but like hell he'd be intimidated.

Sakura gave him a small, sad smile, though something like hope was beginning to spark in her eyes.

"Welcome home, Sasuke-kun."

-

_Gaara visits as often as__ he can, which is in all honesty more often than he should. He wants to help, wants to repay an old debt and he hates that he can't. Still, his visits are loved. He comes when daylight breaks, just as visiting hours begin. He insists on privacy. Sakura didn't understand, for a long time, why Gaara was favoured so. But her silent questions were answered when she ran late one day, and missed the warning. The moment she had stepped into the room she had realised – Gaara was talking._

_It wasn't his usual stilted sentences and short statements. Rather, his words flowed over each other, voice soft, speaking of everything and anything. Every now and again _he _would mumble a sentence – a fact still incredible and new – and each time Gaara's eyes would lighten just a little more._

_A tendril of sand around her ankle had alerted Gaara to her presence, and he had stood to leave immediately. She had stood, still frozen in shock, as he passed her by._

"_He would have hated the quiet."_

_But he returns home, as always. He has people to protect, now._

_- _

Sasuke stares up at the building in front of him. It is old, it is well kept, it is welcoming and it is utterly familiar. He spent months here, after all, back when his life first fell apart.

The memories spark a tendril of dread that curls through his stomach.

"Why are we here?"

She sends him that smile again – it's unnerving – but does not answer.

As they enter through the front doors, the dark-haired woman staffing the front desk glances up and catches sight of Sakura. She then smiled, brightly, and pushed herself to her feet.

"Sakura! Twice in one day again!" She gave a small, gentle laugh. "Not that we mind having you around, but if you have some time off you should really use it."

"I appreciate the thought, Hinata, but I'm here on business this time."

-

_Hinata visits everyday, __naturally, because she works there now. She only began for his sake, but now she is dedicated. She loves the work, and she excels at it – a concept worryingly novel to her. She is especially good with children._

_The work is not fit for a Hyuuga heir, of course. But she has courage, now._

_- _

Recognition hits both Sasuke and Hinata at the same time, as their eyes meet over Sakura's shoulder. Sasuke was mildly surprised to see how much the nervous young girl had changed, but was no more affected. Hinata, on the other hand, has visibly paled.

"Sa-Sakura," she started, eyes never leaving the man looming just inside the door. "Are…are you s-sure…"

"We should at least try, Hinata. Now that we can."

Swallowing noticeably, Hinata nodded and then wrenched her gaze towards Sakura. "H-he's been having a good day. Smiling a lot, though I'm not sure why."

Sakura touched the other woman's hand warmly. "I'm glad to hear it. Has he had lunch?"

Sasuke had clenched his jaw in frustration. It felt like everyone he had met was being deliberately ambiguous in his presence, and it was starting to irritate.

"Yes…Iruka-san brought it along, like usual."

-

_Iruka visits daily, like clockwork. He comes during the lunch break of the Academy, where he still teaches.__ There are a number of reasons for this – ramen is one, comfort is another, but it also allows him to avoid the staff room discussions of the boy no one ever understood._

_But he knows. And h__e understands himself as well, now._

_- _

And Sasuke feels fear.

It has been so long since he has felt it he nearly doesn't recognise it, but in the end it is too primal and _strong_ to be ignored but for what it is. If Iruka…but the _idea_, the _concept_ – it simply doesn't fit. He must be wrong.

He follows Sakura blindly, down corridors that brush against his memory. Once or twice a retired nin watches them suspiciously from a doorway, and then they arrive. Sakura reaches for the door handle and Sasuke catches sight of a simple spiral painted on the wood before him. There is just enough time for his stomach to drop out before the door swings open and they step into the room. It is tidy, simple and bright.

And there he is.

Curled up on the window seat, gaze turned outward, blond hair catching the sunlight. He turns at the sound of the door opening and then stands, as if the reaction is automatic.

Sasuke's fists clench as he catches sight of blue, blue, dead eyes.

Sakura is smiling, all professional nurse, as the blond steps towards them. "Good afternoon! I brought a visitor for you to meet today!"

Flat eyes slide to meet Sasuke's, who can't suppress a shiver. His throat tightens, and he can't breathe.

And then something sparks, deep within. "Sakura-chan? Who's this guy?"

Sasuke sucks in a breath sharply. _He doesn't…what does…how dare he forget_. He tears his eyes from the painfully familiar blond and glares at Sakura, silently demanding an explanation. He is gratified to see that she looks dumbfounded, but not for long.

"N-naruto…you, you spoke…" her voice is trembling, disbelieving.

Sasuke snaps. "What the hell do you mean? He doesn't know who I am!"

"Ne, Sakura-chan?" Blue eyes are oblivious, expectant. "Who is he?"

Sakura lifts a shaking hand to her mouth and presses, and then shuts her eyes tightly. The moment is brief and when it passes she is visibly calmer. "Naruto," she starts, though her voice still wavers. "Could you wait here for a little while? We just need to step outside for a moment."

The eyes glaze and he nods, before gravitating back towards the window.

Sasuke is nearly growling as they exit the room. He closes the door behind them, and then turns to face Sakura. But he halts, and his words die in his throat when he sees her. She is slumped against the opposite wall, and as he watches she slides to the floor. She has her face pressed into her hands.

Then, suddenly, she looks up at him, frowns, and kicks him in the shin.

"Why couldn't you come back sooner, asshole?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and ignored the comment. "What's wrong with him?"

There is quiet, and a murmur of voices in the distance.

Then she takes a deep breath, and she tells him. She speaks of promises, of Orochimaru, of possession. She crafts a story, in such a way that if it weren't for the pain, the weight in his chest, Sasuke could have told himself that he wasn't a character. She speaks of searching, of finding, of a snake in a best friend's body. She speaks of demons, of destruction, of shattered minds and broken souls.

He has slipped, slid down to sit. He stares at the floor, hair falling over horrified eyes.

She is crying. "S-so we tried…we wanted to erase all memories of - of you. We didn't realise, but he – he thought _so much_, they were woven into _everything_, you were _everywhere, _and we, we lost him…"

She speaks of love.

Then she is sobbing too hard to speak, and Sasuke lifts his head. There are tear streaks on his face, light, but present.

His eyes are steel, and endlessly determined.

-

_And then there's Sasuke._

_He has a room next door, not necessarily because he needs it – although some would debate the case. He is present in almost every moment, but no one argues. No one argues because the blond laughs, he smiles, and he lives. Not always, not even often, but more than never._

_And Sasuke remains. Because he loves, now._

_- _

And here, here there is hope.

* * *

Because Naruto has an effect on everyone he meets, no? Most are pretty self-explanatory, but I'm not sure how clear the Sakura bit was. I was trying to get across that Naruto's dedication and reaction made her realise what love really is – letting her forget about her Sasuke infatuation and open her eyes to real love. Um. Anyway.

Sorry about the lack of Kakashi and – he just didn't fit in. Which is unfortunate, because Kakashi's tendency to pick up the habits of lost loved ones is what inspired this fic. If anyone cares to know, I imagine that Kakashi picked up Naruto's pranking tendencies.

As for the Orochimaru stuff – I've never, ever thought Sasuke intended to be Orochimaru's bitch forever. I figured he had some way out of it, and was just using it as a means to an end. In this particular case he allows the possession, but only because he knows he can expel Oro later on (how? Don't know, don't care :P). Unfortunately, Naruto sees Oro!Sasuke in the meantime, figures that's endgame, and the results are pretty ugly.

As for returning to Konoha – when he's done what he needs to do, where else is he gonna go? He'll be back. Eventually. I hope. frets

Annnnnnnnnyway, I'm not sure this turned out like I would have liked. I know some parts didn't. And it could _really_ use a beta, because I kept accidentally screwing around with tenses until I confused myself into an abyss. So I may edit it, later on.

Thanks for reading. ;)


End file.
